Guangzhou CNC's marketing model in the industrial robot industry

Mentioned Guangzhou CNC Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guangzhou CNC), in the CNC system and even the machine tool industry is unknown, they have been ranked first in the domestic CNC system industry sales for 12 consecutive years. Involved in industrial robot manufacturing for 6 years. Will Guangzhou CNC replicate its model on industrial robot projects and once again make the country's products go a long way?

Extend the industry chain

In 2007, Guangzhou CNC invested 20 million yuan and concentrated more than 50 scientific researchers on the development of industrial robots. By 2010, it will enter small-scale production. So far, Guangzhou CNC has been able to achieve a series of industrial robot production, including 3kg, 8kg, 20kg, 50kg handling robots and 120kg, 200kg palletizing robots. It can be used in handling, loading, unloading, welding and painting processes to achieve a variety of production The automation needs of the process. At present, the company is carrying out the research and development of a 400kg palletizing robot and it has been put into market application. At the same time, the sorting robot production line is also being tested.

"It is expected that the sales volume of industrial robots this year will grow greatly on the basis of last year," said Li Boji, deputy general manager of Guangzhou CNC, when interviewed by China Industry News.

Although Guangzhou CNC has long been famous in the CNC system and machine tool industry. In 2011, its sales reached 1.37 billion yuan, ranking first in sales in the CNC system industry for 12 consecutive years, and entering the world's top three in the industry. However, in the field of industrial robots, compared with ABB and Fanuc, these foreign giants, Guangzhou CNC can only be called a rookie.

Why should we expand this emerging field of industrial robots? According to the person in charge of Guangzhou CNC Equipment Co., Ltd., in 2007, Guangzhou CNC, which was located in the hinterland of the South China Machine Center, was keenly aware of changes in some external market environments, including rising labor costs and the degree of factory automation. If Guangzhou CNC is only a CNC system, it will be difficult to expand the scale. To build a complete industrial chain in the industrial field and increase the added value of the products, this is where the company’s strategic thinking lies,” said the company’s responsible person.

Since 1991, it has been a CNC system. So far, more than 80% of machine tools in China have been equipped with CNC system of Guangzhou CNC. Industrial robots also require control systems. Although they differ from those used on machine tools, the basic principles are the same. With nearly 20 years of technology accumulation on CNC systems, Guangzhou CNC has an advantage in the development of industrial robot control systems.

At the same time, Guangzhou CNC is one of the largest motor companies in China with an annual output of 200,000 motors. This laid a good foundation for them to develop servo motors for supporting industrial robots.

In terms of marketing network, Guangzhou CNC has sales networks in 32 provinces and cities nationwide and agency services in foreign countries. With the help of Guangzhou CNC's existing brand advantages, building a complete industrial chain in the industrial field and extending upstream and downstream, manufacturing of industrial robots is precisely the embodiment of this strategic thinking.

Parallel development model

"More than 95% of the components of Guangzhou CNC's industrial robots are self-developed, with 100% intellectual property rights," Li Boji said.

In Guangzhou CNC, there are two research and development rooms dedicated to the development of industrial robots and a robot headquarters. In addition, the company has a total of eight research and development rooms, more than 500 technical personnel, with the two professional R & D room for some of the robot's functional components. The robot headquarters is mainly responsible for the production, technology, sales, and after-sales services of industrial robots. It is understood that Guangzhou CNC currently undertakes the research on the national 863 project industrial robot and special motor, and is one of the drafting units of the national robot standard.

In terms of product development, Guangzhou CNC has created a model that they call themselves “parallel R&D”. That is, each product R & D project, the company will also arrange two to three research and development rooms to cross-study. This not only improves the speed and level of product development, but also forms an effective internal competition mechanism.

"The industrial robots we manufacture are not marketed but are used in large quantities in the company's workshops," Li Boji said. "Our industrial robots are manufactured according to the model of precision and small machine tools. The manufacturing process has strict monitoring procedures to ensure product quality.”

Cost advantage

"The main core components of industrial robots, such as control systems and motors, are all developed by us," said Li Boji.

Industrial robots are mainly composed of four major parts: the body, control system, motor, and reducer. For most domestic industrial robot counterparts, in addition to the main body itself can be manufactured, the other three key components are mainly dependent on imports. This also keeps the cost of domestic industrial robots high. For the Guangzhou CNC that created the industrial chain, the situation is another matter. As a manufacturer of CNC systems and motors, Guangzhou CNC has unique advantages in the development of control systems and servo motors for industrial robots. For the key component reducers that rely on imports in China, Guangzhou CNC invested heavily in research and development. They set up two research and development rooms for the reducer, and several samples have been made so far. "At the 2012 China (Shanghai) International Robot Exhibition, we have several robots supporting the R&D decelerators on our booth," Li Boji said.